It's been a long time, but I hope that there are still readers around following this story!

So sorry for the delay! Enjoy!

Lizzy

It had only taken about thirty minutes.

She had been stripped without consent, scrubbed harshly from head to toe, and forced to wear rags in the form of a shirt and pants. Needless to say, she had never felt so violated in her life, but what choice did she have other than to follow their orders like a pathetic slave?

The man, a rather glutton one, sat proudly on his brown wooden desk. His dark brown eyes landed on her petite form once she entered the large room. His lecherous gaze sent cold shivers down her spine.

Bart leaned his mouth towards her ear. "Behave little girl. We wouldn't want anything unfortunate happening to your cute little hands, now do we?" A thin gleam went off in the corner of her green eyes, and she dared to look down. To her horror, Bart had held a sharp pocket knife to her wrists.

He was threatening to cut her hands off.

N-No-!

Mortified, she swallows whatever lumps that were in her throat. "I-I'll b-behave." She whispered meekly. Bart smiled and stood back upright. His hold on her wrists and the pocket knife however didn't change at all.

The fat man let out an amused loud laugh that left echoes in the room. Elizabeth's emerald eyes darted back to the man. "What a well behaved girl you've brought me. Now Miss Midford, I know quite a lot about you." He pulled out a sheet of paper from his vest pocket and cleared his throat. "You are a child of eleven years old, and yet you are quite the genius when it comes to fencing. Really impressive, don't you think Bart?"

Bart's lips curved into a courteous smile as he looked down at the wide eyed girl. "She did give me quite the scare earlier. But, I assure you she will be best behaved during her stay here." Elizabeth's eyebrows furrowed anxiously when she felt the sensation of something sharp lightly grazing her fingers.

Stay here? Do they intend on keeping me here?

Enough. She had had enough of all this teasing. She wanted answers. "My family has not wronged anyone. Why are you doing this?" She questioned boldly. The man gave her a look of surprise and suddenly after a couple of seconds had passed, his face reddened.

And at that moment, Elizabeth regretted her bold words. A hand instantly whipped her cheek harshly, sending her spiraling across the carpet. She had never been slapped so cruelly; it brought an army of tears to her stinging emerald eyes.

Before she could even blink, the fat man's face blocked her blurry vision, red faced like an angry tomato. She had never seen someone sweat so profusely before. He grabbed her by the scruff of her rags and held her up to his eye level.

"What a stupid question. WHY AM I DOING THIS, YOU ASK?!" He yelled into her face. "The Midford family has not wronged me, in that you are correct." A shaky smile then played across his greasy lips that made the young noble shudder. "But, aren't you also a part of the of the oh so infamous Phantomhive family? The Fiancee of the precious and only son, Ciel Phantomhive, are you not?"

Elizabeth bit her bottom lip gently and nodded hesitantly. "I am."

"And now to answer your idiotic question; I am simply doing this as payback. Since the Earl and his wife are now deceased, that means that the only one that I can still payback to is their son. By taking you, of course. Does my answer satisfy you, my dear?"

No.

"Yes..."

The fat man smiled while Bart lifted her up to her feet. The man patted down his clothes and returned to his seat on his desk. "Father. That is what you will address me by from now on." Father wiped away the dripping sweat from his brow line.

"Come now, don't be shy. I want to hear you say it. Father."

And like that, she remembered the numerous times that she would run up to her father and hug him. Smiling so brilliantly while she yelled out so excitedly, "Father!" But now, the word was as undesirable and vile as the man standing before her.

Elizabeth adverted her green eyes and stared down at the ground.

"Yes...Father."

She had never felt so sickened before.

Lizzy

The sky had gotten a little darker, she observed wistfully. A few minutes had passed since Bart escorted her to her room...well her shared room. Not that it bothered her or anything. In fact, she had no time to be bothered by something so irrelevant, not with the prior confrontation on her mind.

Why did that man hold such a grudge over the Phantomhives?

Why did they take her?

Why were they keeping her here?

Payback. That's what he called it. She clutched her arms tightly, trying to calm her shivering body. She was nothing but a small pawn in their game of pain and suffering. Simply payback, was what had said. So easily as if it were something common to him.

After going through all that...why does Ciel have to pay? This kind of thing, it isn't right!

And what made matters worse; she was the one being used to bait him. Sweet, bashful, innocent Ciel...was it selfish that all she wanted to do was see him and see if he was doing well? Wrap her arms around him and snuggle him up like she would do with her teddy? Play pretend and act like they hadn't lost anything?

Knock

Knock

Elizabeth slowly raised her head from her folded arms, and looked at the wooden door tiredly.

It was Valentine, standing there with his hands behind his back with a wide smile plastered on his round face. "Big sister!" Her green eyes widened when she heard him. Big sister? But, they had just met...

"...Valentine...why are you here?"

The boy jogged over to her, swiftly dodging the other bed. His fingers curled around the ripped hem of pants and he tugged carefully. When she furrowed her golden eyebrows in confusion, he pointed at his balled up hand.

"I have something for you."

Elizabeth pushed back her strands of long hair out of her eyes, and she threw her legs over the least curious. Valentine unraveled his fingers, and revealed the three candies that he kept in his palm.

Elizabeth blinked and she stared at the boy dumbly.

"Sweets?" Of all the things that he could offer, he was giving her sweets? Well, she started wryly, that's the mentality of a little kid for you.

Valentine nodded happily. "No one actually eats on their first day here, so I brought you some candy." Elizabeth noted how the edges of his eyes crinkled so slightly. "I got you in trouble with Mr. Bart earlier. I guess I'm too nosey for my own good." He said, smiling sheepishly. The noble's eyes widened to it's peak. A pang of guilt hit her gut when she recalled how the older man manhandled the poor boy, and her gut dropped when she remembered how he had threatened her earlier.

His smile dropped and his vibrant eyes drooped slightly. "I was also outside Father's room too...and I happened to hear-"

"Uwaa! This is caramel, isn't it?!"

Valentine halted his rambling when Elizabeth took the sweets from him. She smiled brightly, and handed him back one. "Thank you, Valentine. I haven't had such a treat in a while." A rosy tint appeared on the boy's cheeks and he smiled happily.

"No problem!"

Elizabeth unwrapped the treat and placed the caramel candy in her mouth. Hmph...it's salty...salty caramel...She wasn't a fan of such unsweetened treats, but she had a gut feeling that it would was close to the best that she would ever get.

Feeling a sense of being watched, she glanced at Valentine from the corner of her big forest green eyes. Not surprisingly, he was indeed staring at her, as if waiting for her approval. Elizabeth swirled her tongue around the bland outside and hummed in false sanctification.

"Ahh, it tastes good." Valentine's eyes were sparkling at this point.

Ah-Since he's already here.

"Valentine. Could you tell me more about..." Her eyebrows knitted together as she tried to say the word without disgust. "...about...Father...and this...place?"

"So, did she meet any of your expectations, Father?"

The fat man smirked all knowingly, and he tilted his wine glass to the side slightly. Bart watched the swishing red wine, and followed it as it splattered against the floor-like blood. The fat man ignored this and he laughed loudly.

"What a treat you've brought me, my friend. That determination, those piercing green eyes, her innocence, yes it will be all worth it in the end. Is she in Annie's room?"

Bart smiled charmingly. "Of course. Why, she's in there right now. And I assure you that she won't be leaving any time soon." He said, raising his cup to his lips. The fat man groped his beard and narrowed his eyes.

"Who better to display the first night other than Annie? The way she smirks, the way her hair curves around her naked bronze body, her seductive and mature voice. She was destined to be in this business."

Bart snorted and leaned his cheek against his gloved knuckles.

"How lurid. I sometimes forget how much of a foul pig you can be."

The fat man chuckled in his drink, and wiped the residue of wine off of his unruly beard.

"If that's all you can come up with, then you really underestimate me, Bart." "Father" peered into the inside of his glass with lazy eyes and chuckled to himself. "That little Blondie is gonna make me loads of freaking cash. I'll be rich!"

Lizzy

Dinner had passed not too long ago. Sitting there on her bare bed, Elizabeth realized that innocent little Valentine was right all along. She wouldn't be able to eat on the first night. She gently caressed her bare stomach, making small circles around her belly button.

She probably wouldn't be able to eat for days.

It was surprising what being secluded and deserted could do to a person. Valentine had been assigned a chore- to help with setting up for supper a few minutes ago. In the spam of those few minutes her mind was succumb to dark and unwelcoming thoughts.

Her aunt and uncle's deaths.

The women in black.

Her mind was getting fuzzy, ughhh.

Her family.

Ciel.

All of these demons were clawing their way towards her, and she couldn't stop them. All she could do was firmly plant her hands against her ears, and pray that they would stop. But no matter how hard she pressed or how much she whispered calming words to herself, there was always that one thing that would break through her defenses.

"Why hasn't anyone come for me yet?"

Ciel.

For a month, Ciel probably felt a lot of things.

He was probably a lot of things.

Deserted. Orphaned. Abused. Little. Baby. Callow Ciel. Were these the thoughts that danced hauntingly in his mind like it did hers? In the spam of that one month, were these thoughts inhabiting and drilling their way into his thoughts like it did hers?

Did he cry? He probably did. That was normal for Ciel. He was a crybaby.

He probably thought that no one was coming for him.

Like her.

But she was different. She didn't cry all the time like he did. She liked to think of herself as his knight in shining armor. Well, maybe knight with fencing skills. She wanted to be his own hero, someone that he could depend on, or someone who would always offer him a shoulder to cry on.

Elizabeth stopped. She stopped rubbing her belly and she stopped thinking. Be positive! Her green eyes widened and she slapped her hands against her cheeks. She had to be strong. The first night-if she could get through the first night...

Her hands clasped together and she tucked her knees in. "Just the first night. I can do this." Ciel was probably tucked in, like the way she was, praying and knowing that someone would come for him. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the scratched up knuckles of her hands.

"Hey! What the fuck, kid?!" Shaken, Elizabeth immediately looked up from her spot on the bed only to lay her green eyes upon what she thought was one of the most beautiful girls that she had ever laid her eyes upon.

Now, she was an expert on cute things-and what made people cute. But this girl, was on another level. She was close to her age-probably 12 or so. But, there was something about her that made her dull a little in comparison. Her emerald eyes shimmered in awe.

S-She's so pretty!

Was it her exotic, wavy red hair? Or her striking golden eyes? Was it the authority in her voice? Or was it her clothes that was so lazily wrapped around her dark skin that gave her that adult like glow?Why was this sight so breath taking?

Meanwhile Elizabeth was rooted in her dreamlike trance, the previously ticked off girl was now staring at the frozen gawking noble, a little creeped out by her antics. She heaved a sigh and snapped her fingers, not so softly.

"Hello?!"

Elizabeth was too busy staring to realize that the girl was waving a hand in her face. Annoyed, the girl gave up and began to rummage through her drawers. "What a great time he picks. What a great time indeed." She mutters, obviously displeased by the younger girl's presence. "Sure, go ahead and put a brat in my room-again." She continued to mutter, rummaging through her countless diverse garments. Elizabeth followed her with her emerald gaze, with eyes full of curiosity.

"Y-You're very pretty!" She ended up blurting out. Her face immediately reddened at her outburst and she covered her cheeks with her hands. "I-I'm sorry, I don't have many friends. I just wanted to tell you..." The girl is staring at her drivel now, while her hand is halfway into the drawer. Her lips curve up slightly at the edges and she pulls out a pair of undergarments that...well, little and young Elizabeth could barely wrap her head around.

"Oh," the wavy haired girl chuckled when she realized that Elizabeth was staring at the garment in her hands, "You don't know what this is, do you?" Elizabeth shyly shook her head no, and the girl only smirked even wider. "Let's just say that it's something that adults wear." She answered with a wag of her eyebrows, closing the drawer with her other hand.

Elizabeth's face was unchanging just as any other eleven year old's would be. She wasn't really grasping what the older girl was trying to hint to her. "Something...that adults...wear?" She repeated mindlessly, cocking her head to the side in deep thought. Her mother was very private and secretive when it came to her undergarments-but to imagine her mother in such ungraceful and useless clothing just left a bad taste in her mouth. In fact, nope, she couldn't see it, she couldn't imagine it, nope.

"My mother does not wear undergarments like that one." She pointed out, much to the girl's annoyance. "It's useless." The girl didn't lose her composure-oh no. Father's favorite never lost her composure because she was an amazing actress. Slowly buttoning down her normally plain day clothes, she snickered at the young noble.

"I bet that your mother is uptight. Quite the serious one, I'll add." Her golden eyes flickered from her working fingers to Elizabeth's surprised green eyes. "Boring women like that are just plain and no fun to have around. Did I hit the bulls eye?" She asked, with a hint of mockery in her voice.

As much as Lizzy would have hated to admit it...

She pretty much did hit the fact that her mother was over the top with her serious behavior. Then, like a wave of nausea, her head suddenly gained some extra load and began to throb. Mother, tears began to build up in the corners of her eyes, I miss you and father and brother...Oh how much she wished that her mother was here to save and protect her. Despite her mother's harsh lessons and attitude, she still loved her family whole-heartedly and that was where Elizabeth wanted to be, with her family.

Her wavy haired roommate threw her shirt over and off of her torso and sighed in annoyance when she caught a glimpse of the tears in Lizzy's eyes. "Oh, don't be such a baby. Did no one tell you? Once you're here, you're stuck here. No one cares enough to look for you, trust me." She pulled on the garments with ease and Elizabeth tore her eyes away immediately, incredibly disturbed about what was now going on.

"Oh please! Don't be such a baby, we're both girls!" Annie sighed in annoyance and continued with what she was doing. "But listen, things aren't all that bad. I get to be my own person and be away from all of those bossy adults." She said confidently as she stuffed her day clothes in her drawer. "In fact, I get to be better than those useless excuses for parents. I'm exciting, charming, beautiful; everything they're not!"

Losing some of her earlier hype and excitement, Elizabeth simply tucked her head in between her knees and mumbled begrudgingly, "And what makes you so much better?"

The girl, Annie, simply flipped her wavy hair off of her shoulders and swayed her way over to the beaten and battered door to their room. A few knocks were heard and exchanged between her and the other person on the side of the door, and it startled the poor girl folded up on the other side of the room.

Annie giggled, amused by Elizabeth's jumpy actions. "Don't be such a baby, now. If you want to know what makes me better, then I will be happy to show you." She gingerly placed her hand on the knob of the door, finger by finger, and twisted it slowly. The tear jerking foul smell that escaped from the small opening of the door made Elizabeth's nose crinkle and she quickly held her nose between her thumb and index finger.

What is that smell?

The knocking got louder, and Elizabeth furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "W-Why are you opening the door?" She asked hesitantly. Annie paused to smirk adoringly at the young dubious girl, before she opened the door, creak by creak. The terrible smell engulfed the room and Elizabeth literally felt as if she was going to lose consciousness any time then.

Her vision fogged up a little due to the tears in her eyes, but they were open just in time to see the older dark skinned girl throw her slim arms around a...tall and muscular man that had been clearly intoxicated. She watched as Annie ran her fingers across the man's bare neck and slowly loosened his black tie with the other. "I'll show you...what makes me different." She whispered, throwing his tie to a dark corner in their room.

Appalled, Elizabeth pushed her bare legs into her bed and sat up against the wall, trying hopelessly to escape. Was he going to hurt her? Was he going to hurt them? She opened her mouth, hesitant to speak up. "S-Step away from h-him! He's dangerous!" She stuttered, eyes wide with fear. And suddenly, it was like seeing all over the girl, with hungry and predator-like, blood red eyes.

"Dangerous?" Annie, however, wasn't scared in the least. "Oh, he's harmless. But, if you're talking about me..." The dark skinned beauty encircled the intoxicated and stumbling man like a snake and pushed him, pinning him down to the floor boards. The blonde haired noble's twitching pale green eyes made eye contact with Annie's bright and crazy gold ones.

That was when it hit Elizabeth.

Her nails and mouth were literally dripping with poison and menace.

Cold and clamp hands shakily reached up to shield her innocence from the grotesque view in front of her forest green eyes.

For little and pure Elizabeth to start breaking down and crumbling away-

It had taken five seconds.

Well it looks like Lizzy has found herself to be in quite the predicament here...hopefully a miracle will come and save her from this pickle-

or not.

Thanks so much for reading and I'll be looking forward to your thoughts in the reviews! R&R!